How to Use a Flash Drive

A flash drive, also called a pen drive, thumb drive, or memory stick, is a commonly used name for a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive. A flash drive is a kind of memory storage device, which is reusable and rewritable. It is often small and light enough to be kept in a pocket, making the transfer and access of data highly portable. The flash drive is also sturdy, resilient from scratches and dust. A flash drive is extremely popular among people using computers because it is handy, easy to use, and affordable.

Materials Needed:

- Any USB Flash Drive- Computer

Step 1

Determine the use of your flash drive. A flash drive can be used to store data such as picture, documents, music, video, and program files. It can also be used to transfer data from one computer to another as long as a USB port is available. Flash drives have been known to be used by system administrators and computer technicians to store network and security information, as boot disks, application carriers, and such. Select a flash drive according to its use.

Step 2

Choose a flash drive. Flash drives come at a wide range of size, memory capacity, model, and price. Select one that corresponds to the type of use. Flash drive size ranges from as small as a pen cap to as big as a stack of cards or a permanent marker. Memory capacity may range from 8Mb to 32Gb (Note: there are 1,000 megabytes or Mb in a gigabyte or Gb)

Step 3

Know the parts of a flash drive. There are two main parts on a flash drive. The first is the USB connector, which is used to connect to a USB port, and the second is the main body, which stores the data. A cover or cap (if any) may be included to protect the connector.

Step 4

Plug the flash drive to a computer. Plug your flash drive’s connector to your computer’s USB port. The USB port can be found externally on a computer, situated on the front, back or even at the top of it. Also, look for a three-pronged symbol that represents the USB compatible port.

Step 5

Open the flash drive directory or folder. Wait for the computer to detect the flash drive. Once detected, a prompt may appear for options on opening files within the flash drive. Click option 'Open folder to view files'. If no prompt appears, open the flash drive by accessing 'My Computer' and double-clicking on the flash drive icon.

Step 6

Use the flash drive by transferring files or data. Select the files needed from the flash drive or the computer and drag towards its destination. For example, choose a music file from the My Music folder and drag towards the flash drive icon or the opened directory to transfer the music file. Also, select a file, right-click on it and choose either the 'Copy' or 'Cut' option. Right-click on the destination and choose 'Paste'.

Step 7

Remove the flash drive. Make sure that the data transfer is finished before unplugging it. Removing while the data is being transferred or copied may cause an error on the operation.